March 29, 2005
Trail Blazers Victor Khryapa and Ha Seung-Jin celebrated NBA’s Read to Achieve
On Tuesday, March 29, 2005, members of Trail Blazer team and organization visited with youth at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO). Players Viktor Khryapa, originally from Russia, and Ha, a native of South Korea, joined the children for a Reading Time Out, handed out books, and participated in a question and answer session. Viktor enjoyed the event at IRCO because it was, "Fun to use my native language." Ha had this to add after Viktor's statement, "I always enjoy children, doesn't matter what language".
After this, the players participated in a shoot around and spent time signing autographs and taking pictures. Jerry Moss, Director of Community Outreach, had this to say about the event, "Basketball is an international game. Today the game of basketball reached beyond Portland and we connected with kids from different cultures through Trail Blazer Basketball." The event revolves around a month of reading activities as part of the NBA’s focus on literacy through the Read to Achieve program.
IRCO
IRCO is a community-based, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with a 25-year history of assisting over 45,000 refugees and immigrants through the various stages of integration into U.S. society. IRCO clients and employees represent 46 different ethnic groups speaking over 30 languages. IRCO’s mission is to assist refugees, immigrants and multi-ethnic communities to develop self-sufficiency and cultural awareness while affirming and preserving each culture within an ever-changing global environment.
Read to Achieve
Read to Achieve, the National Basketball Association’s key community outreach initiative is a year-round campaign to help young people develop a life-long love for reading and encourage adults to read regularly with children. Reaching an estimated 50 million children a year, Read to Achieve is the most extensive educational outreach initiative in the history of professional sports.
Trail Blazers Read to Achieve
The Blazers strive to inspire children to read and learn through the NBA’s Read to Achieve program. The organization believes if you put books in the hands of children and their families, provide fun, interactive opportunities to read together, students can be inspired to achieve the reading skills that every child needs to succeed. Through hosting reading events, distributing thousands of books to children, creating special reading rooms with non-profit partners, and allowing employees time-off to be reading mentors, the Trail Blazers management, staff and team are dedicated to providing the resources necessary to help children Read to Achieve.
View Photos From Past Read to Achieve Events
